Nail driver



Dec. 25, 1928. 1.696.181

' A. T. PHILLIPS NAIL DRIVER Filed Dec. 20, 1927 2 sheets -sheot 1 Dec. 25, 1928. 1,696,781

A. T. PHILLIPS NAIL DRIVER Filed Dec. 20, 1927 2 sheets-sheaf. 2

/ Fm?) v Patented Dec. 25, 1928.

UNITED srArss ALFRED T. PHILLIPS, OE NORWOOD, OHIO.

NAIL DRIVER.

Application filed December 20, 1927. Serial No. 241,305.

This invention relates especially to a type of nail driver which is employed in the laying of hard wood floors and the like.

An object of the invention is to produce such a drive-r as will accomplish the driving of nails in the strips of flooring boards of the various woods from which wood floors are made and in such a manner that the usual tongues and grooves of this flooring are not damaged in the driving of the nails above the tongues.

A further object is to produce such a. nail driver as will assist in the tightening of the flooring boards relatively to each other previously to the driving of the nails which secure the flooring board strips in place.

A further object is to produce such a nail driver as will lay hard wood or other flooring boards rapidly because of its self container supply of nails and the feeding mechanism by which the feeding of nails when required may be accomplished.

These and other objects are attained in the nail driver described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: I

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a nail driver embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the nail hopper and closely associated mechanism of my improved nail driver.

Fig. 3 is a 'plan view of the foot and anvil portion of the nail driver I have described.

Fig. 4. is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional elevation of portion of the nail feeding mechanism.

My improved nail driver consists of a hopper 6 which contains the nails to be used in laying the flooring boards of a floor, a nail feeding mechanism '.7 associated with the hopper, a foot 8 which is connected with the hopper by means of a strut 9, and punch 10 which upon being struck by a hammer will drive the nail into position into the wood flooring boards and into the joist. The hopper has a handle 11 attached to it by means of which the machineis carried and moved from place to place along the edge of the flooring board being nailed into position. A frame 12 beneath the hopper and to which it and the strut 9 are secured, pivots a nail feeder and agitator 13 at a point 1 so that this agitator may be lifted through a. slot 15 in the hopper bottom. In this manner nails in the hopper will be agitated sufficiently to cause one or more nails from time to time to drop with their shanks projecting through the slot as shown at 16 and 17. This lifting of the agitator is accomplished by a hand lever 18 which is connected by means of a link 19 to a short lever 20 on the shaft of the agitator 13. Lever 18 has adjustment devices 20 and 21 which govern the throw of the lever, a pivot 22 connecting the lever with the handle 11 and a spring 23 serving to hold the lever down as shown in order to keepthe agitator in'the position shown. A series of holes 24 in lever 18 also operate to give varying throw to 13.

The nail slot 15 of the hopper leads upwardly and beneath the wall 25 of the hopper from which the nails will slide down a chute 26 beneath a finger 2? which holds the nails in the slotand delivers them properly to a feeding disc 28 which is rotatably mounted in a bracket 29 secured to a. short bracket 30 on the hopper. This disc 28 has a notch 31 in its edge, see. Fig. 2, which receives one nail at a time frornthe chute and rotates to deliver the nail to a delivery tube 32 leading to the foot 8. Tube 32 has a slot 33 in its side so that the shank of the nail may enter the tube freely. The position of tube. 32 with relation tothe end edges '34 of the nail chute 26 is such that just'before the disc ceases rotation the tube has-received the nail and simultaneously with this the nail has been moved beyond the edge 34 of the chute, thereby permitting the nail to fall down the tube into a position to be driven. In order to cause the feeding disc 28 to rotate properly an operating arm 35 extends from the agitator 13 in position to engage a pi... 37 extending from the shaft of the feeding disc 28. This, when the agitator moves will rotate the disc to pick up a nail from the chute in order to prepare it for delivery to the tube 32. A spring 36 attached to pin 37 operates to re verse rotation of the disc when the arm 35 is withdrawn. This reversal of disc rotation is the feeling movement of the disc and delivers the nail into the tube 32.

The lower end of the tube connects with the foot 8 and delivers the nail to its interior. This foot is provided with a metal lining 38 which has a slot 39 in which the nail enters to pass through the aperture 40 in the lining. A movable punch 41 in the lining is held away from the slot 39 by a spring 42 so that the reduced end of the punch, after the nail the agitator has dropped into aperture 410 may be driven into engagement with the nail to drive it into the wood adjacent to the tongue. An enlarged upper end and head 4:55 on the punch permit a hammer being brought to strike the punch head to accomplish the nail driving operation. For a more complete and better appearing piece of mechanism a sleeve or casing 4:4. may be provided for moving with the punch each time it is struck and for enclosing the spring with attendant cleanliness to the inner mechanism.

A feature which I have provided on the foot of the machine is an anvil like projection which when struck by the worlnnans hammer will operate to drive the flooring board strip into tongue and groove fitting position as shown. in Fig. t sotha-t the nail ma then be driven as previously described.

nother feature of the invention is thatI have so proportioned the length of the foot as shown in 3, that, it is the proper distance between nails in laying any lrind of Wood flooring, thereby assuring proper spacing of nails in moving the machine along a complete length of flooring strip.

The operation of the machine as determined from the above description is quite obvious and for this reason it is thought that the detailed description of its operation is unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:- V

1. A nail driver comprising a hopper, an agitator in the hopper and movable into and out of a slot therein to cause nails to fall into the slot and to be moved therethrough, a delivery tube adjacent to the slot, a notched disc rotatively mounted relatively to the slot and tube to receive nails from the slot into the disc notch and to deliver the nail to the tube upon rotation of the disc, manually operated means adapted to synchronize the movement of the agitator and cisc, and a driving means for receiving nails from the tube and driving them into the wood to receive them.

2. A nail driver comprising a hopper, an agitator in the hopper and movable into and out of a slot therein to cause nails from the hopper to fall into the slot and to be moved therethrough, a delivery tube adjacent to the slot, a notched disc rotatively mounted relatively to the slot and tube to receive nails from the slot into the disc notch and to deliver them to the tube upon rotation of the disc, a manually operated lever adapted to synchronize the movements or: the agitator and disc, a nail receiving foot connected with the tube, and a nail punch in the foot to drive the nail therefrom into the wood to receive it.

3. A nail driver comprising a hopper, an agitator in the hopper, slot in the hopper terminating inclinedly on the outer side of the hopper through which slot the agitator moves in and out causing nails to engage and to be moved therethrough, a delivery tube adjacent to the outer inclined slots bottom, a notched disc rotatively mounted to receive a nail from the slot into the notch and delivering the nail to the tube upon rotation of the disc, a manually operated lever adapted to synchronize the movements of the agitator and disc, a nail receiving foot at the end of the delivery tube and an anvil on one of its sides, the receiving foots upper end terminating cylindrically, a sleeve in the cylinder and receiving foot, and a spring retracted nail punch operable in said sleeve for driving a nail positioned therein.

In Witness whereof, I aflix my signature.

ALFRED T. PHILLIPS. 

